IB World School – The IB Diploma Programme

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme at the International School of Düsseldorf is for students who are in their final two years of school, usually Grades 11 and 12. The Diploma Programme is a challenging two-year curriculum leading to final examinations at the end of the course and a qualification that is welcomed by the leading universities around the world.

A student who completes the full Diploma award takes six academic subjects, three at the Higher level and three at the Standard Level. At a minimum, their choice must include two languages, a humanities, a mathematics and a science course. In addition, there are three further components to complete; these are Theory of Knowledge, the 4000-word Extended Essay and 150 hours of Creativity, Action and Service.

ISD has been authorized by the International Baccalaureate Organization (www.ibo.org/diploma) to offer the Diploma Programme since 1976. At that time there were fewer than 70 schools authorized worldwide, there are now over 1500 schools in 120 countries offering the Diploma Programme. The Diploma Programme at ISD is taught by experienced teachers, many of whom are IB examiners or are IB workshop leaders in their subject.

We have an inclusive policy for our IB Diploma Programme, which means we encourage most students to attempt the full IB Diploma. Usually about 90% of our final year students are completing the full Diploma. We are proud of the achievement of our students. They consistently achieve scores above the worldwide averages both in individual subjects and for the Diploma overall. In 2007, our students’ average Diploma score was 34 points compared to the world average of 29.6.